# Qiling Mind Map guide > How every Qiling Mind Map feature works: adding and editing nodes, dragging, floating topics, 11 layouts, image cropping, tasks, XMind import/export, sharing. Grouped by task, one entry per feature. The tags under each title show the shortcut or menu entry. If you forget where something lives, press Ctrl + K in the editor and type the feature name. On a Mac you can use ⌘ instead of Ctrl. URL: https://mindmap.qilingtools.com/en/guide Other language: https://mindmap.qilingtools.com/zh/guide Editor: https://mindmap.qilingtools.com/edit ## Adding and editing nodes ### Add a child Shortcut / entry: Tab Select a node and press Tab to add a child under it and start typing. The "+ Child" toolbar button does the same. ### Add a sibling Shortcut / entry: Enter · Shift + Enter Enter adds a sibling after the selected node, Shift + Enter adds one before it. On the central topic, Enter adds a child. ### Edit text Shortcut / entry: Double-click · Space · F2 Double-click a node to edit its text; the properties panel opens on the right at the same time. Enter finishes, Shift + Enter adds a line break, Esc cancels. ### Delete Shortcut / entry: Delete · Backspace Deletes the selected node and everything under it. The central topic cannot be deleted, only renamed. Ctrl + Z brings it back. ### Undo and redo Shortcut / entry: Ctrl + Z · Ctrl + Y Every change can be undone, including imports, drags and style changes. ### Copy, cut and paste Shortcut / entry: Ctrl + C / X / V · Ctrl + D Copies a node with its children; select another node and paste to add it as a child. Ctrl + D duplicates right after itself. ### Paste text as branches Shortcut / entry: Ctrl + V Copy nested content from Markdown, a web page list or Word and paste it on a node: the levels become child nodes. ### Promote, demote, reorder Shortcut / entry: Shift + Tab · Alt + Shift + ← → · Alt + ↑ ↓ Shift + Tab promotes a node to a sibling of its parent; Alt + Shift + arrows demote or promote; Alt + ↑ ↓ move it among siblings. ### Insert a parent Shortcut / entry: Ctrl + Enter Inserts a new node between the selected node and its parent, handy for grouping items under a new heading. ### Multi-select Shortcut / entry: Shift / Ctrl + click · Shift + drag empty space Delete, restyle or move several nodes at once. Ctrl + A selects every visible node. ### Format painter Shortcut / entry: Alt + C · Alt + V Copy a node’s color, icons, shape and font, then paste them onto other selected nodes. ### Command palette Shortcut / entry: Ctrl + K Type a feature name such as "export PNG", "fishbone" or "hand-drawn" and press Enter. The quickest way to find anything. ## Dragging and the canvas ### Drag nodes Shortcut / entry: Drag Drop a node onto another to make it a child there; drop it between two siblings to reorder. The drop spot is shown before you let go. ### Move without attaching Shortcut / entry: Hold Shift while dragging Hold Shift during a drag to just move the node: it will not attach to anything nearby and stays where you drop it as a floating topic. ### Drag to copy Shortcut / entry: Alt + drag Copies the whole subtree to the drop spot and leaves the original in place. ### Floating topics Shortcut / entry: Double-click empty space Double-click empty canvas for a node that is not connected to the central topic. Place it anywhere for notes or unsorted ideas, and drag it onto a node to attach it. ### Pan and zoom Shortcut / entry: Drag empty space · wheel · Ctrl + wheel Drag empty space or scroll to pan; Ctrl + wheel or Ctrl + ± to zoom; Ctrl + 0 fits the window and Ctrl + Shift + 0 zooms to the selection. Two-finger trackpad and one-finger touch panning work too. ### Collapse and expand Shortcut / entry: Ctrl + / · Alt + 1 / 2 / 3 Click the dot at a branch end to collapse or expand it. Alt + 1 / 2 / 3 show only that many levels, Alt + 0 expands everything; right-click "Expand only this branch" collapses the rest. ### Focus mode Shortcut / entry: Right-click → Focus on this node Shows only one branch so you can work on or present it without distraction. "Exit focus" at the top brings everything back. ### Full screen Shortcut / entry: Ctrl + Shift + F The editor fills the whole screen; Esc exits. ### Mini-map and grid Shortcut / entry: View → Display Click anywhere on the mini-map to jump there in a large map; a grid background helps line up floating topics. ## Layouts and style ### 11 layouts Shortcut / entry: Toolbar → Layout Mind map (both sides), logic chart (right / left), org chart (down, stacked leaves, up), tree chart, brace map, fishbone, and horizontal and vertical timelines. Only the arrangement changes, so switch any time. ### Left or right side Shortcut / entry: Properties → Style In the mind map layout, top-level branches are split automatically, or pin one to the left or right. ### Style presets Shortcut / entry: Toolbar → Style presets Apply colors, lines and node shapes in one click: 10 presets including clean, business and hand-drawn. ### Color themes and branch colors Shortcut / entry: Toolbar → Theme 8 color themes; select a branch to give it its own color under Style in the properties panel. ### Line style and width Shortcut / entry: View → Line style Curved, straight, elbow or tapered lines, in thin, normal or thick. ### Spacing, text width, fonts Shortcut / entry: View Compact, normal or loose spacing; set how wide node text wraps; choose from 6 fonts; "Same size per level" makes the layout tidier. ### Auto numbering Shortcut / entry: View → Auto numbering Number branches as 1.1.1, Chinese document style or I. A. 1. a.; numbers update as you add or remove nodes. ## Node content ### Properties panel Shortcut / entry: Double-click a node · Toolbar → Properties Slides in from the right with four tabs: Style, Icons & image, Task and Content. A blue dot marks the tabs that already have something set. Click empty canvas or press Esc to close it; clicking another node keeps it open and shows that node. ### Node style Shortcut / entry: Alt + B / I / S · Alt + = / - 9 shapes (including capsule, hexagon and diamond), fill, text and border colors, dashed borders, bold, italic, strikethrough, text size and alignment. ### Custom colors Shortcut / entry: Rainbow circle after the swatches Branch color, fill, text, border, relationships and the color theme can all use any color: click the rainbow circle to open the picker, drag the square for shade and the bar for hue, pick from the common colors grid, type a color code such as #3B82F6, or in Chrome / Edge use the eyedropper to pick from the screen. "Recent", under the swatches and in the picker, starts with the current color followed by the colors you recently customized or picked, one click to reuse; a whole drag counts as one undo step. ### Icons Shortcut / entry: Properties → Icons & image Priority, progress, emoji, flags and more; a node can have several, and you can filter by them. ### Images: crop and position Shortcut / entry: Properties → Icons & image → Insert image After picking a picture a crop box opens so you keep only the part you need (drag inside to move, drag edges and corners to resize); use Crop later to adjust it again. Images can sit above, below, left or right of the text. ### Links and jumps Shortcut / entry: Properties → Content Add a web address that opens in a new tab, or link to another node in the map and jump to it with one click. ### Notes Shortcut / entry: Properties → Content Extra details with Markdown lists, to-dos and links. Kept in XMind exports and shown with N in presentation mode. ### Tags Shortcut / entry: Properties → Task & tags Type and press Enter to add; a node can have several tags, and you can filter by them. Click a tag name to give it a color or an icon; every tag with that name in the map changes together (XMind exports keep only the text). ### Boundaries Shortcut / entry: Ctrl + B Draws a frame around a subtree; press again to remove it. To frame several siblings together, Shift- or Ctrl-click them (under the same parent), then press Ctrl + B or right-click "Draw one boundary around these"; any siblings in between are included. ### Summaries Shortcut / entry: Right-click → Add summary Sums up a group of children in one line, shown beside a brace. ### Relationships Shortcut / entry: Right-click → Add relationship Then click the target node to connect two nodes on different branches. Change solid or dashed, color, arrows and label, and drag the middle dot to bend it. ## Tasks and organizing ### Task progress Shortcut / entry: Alt + P · Properties → Task Give a node progress, an owner and a due date; overdue dates turn red, and clicking the progress ring on a node ticks it off. ### Task list Shortcut / entry: View → Task list Every task in the map by due date, with an owner filter, tick-off, click to jump to the node, and CSV export. ### Filter Shortcut / entry: Toolbar → Filter Filter by tag, icon, owner or status and fade the rest, or type #tag, @owner, is:todo or is:overdue. ### Search and replace Shortcut / entry: Ctrl + F · Ctrl + H Search node text and press Enter for the next match; Ctrl + H replaces one at a time or all at once. ### Outline view Shortcut / entry: Toolbar → Outline Shows the whole map as a text list at the side: click to locate, double-click to edit, drag to restructure. Comfortable for long writing. ### Sort children Shortcut / entry: Right-click → Sort children Sort a node’s children by text or reverse their order. ### Copy a branch into a new map Shortcut / entry: Right-click → Copy to new map When a branch grows large, copy it into its own map; the original is untouched. ### Org charts Shortcut / entry: File → New from template The staff template has round photos you can click to replace; batch-import photos matched by file name; set assistant positions and headcount badges; or build the chart from an Excel / CSV roster (name, title, manager). ### Statistics Shortcut / entry: View → Statistics Nodes, depth, word count, task completion, and how many nodes have notes, images or links. ### Presentation mode Shortcut / entry: View → Presentation mode Walks through the map branch by branch: ← → to move, N to show or hide notes, Esc to exit. ## Saving, import and export ### Auto-saved in the browser Every change is saved in the current browser, so maps survive refresh and restarts; the status bar shows the save time. Nothing is uploaded, so other browsers or computers cannot see it: export a file to move it. ### My maps Shortcut / entry: File → My maps Keep many maps and open, duplicate, delete or filter them here; when signed in, maps shared with you show up too. ### New maps and templates Shortcut / entry: File → New from template Start blank or from a built-in template, and save your own structures as templates for next time. ### Version snapshots Shortcut / entry: File → Version snapshots Save the current version and restore it any time; one is also taken before your first edit each day and before an import overwrites the map. Up to 12, kept in the local browser. ### Save to a file on your computer Shortcut / entry: Ctrl + S · Ctrl + Shift + S In Chrome / Edge, save straight to a .xmind file and overwrite it with Ctrl + S; other browsers download a new copy. ### Open and import Shortcut / entry: File → Import XMind, Word, Markdown, indented text, Mermaid, OPML, FreeMind, Excel / CSV and this site’s JSON. Multi-sheet XMind files become separate maps; "Insert file under selected node" merges another file into the current map. ### Import outline text Shortcut / entry: File → Import → Import from outline text Paste Markdown (# headings, - lists) or text indented with spaces / tabs, then insert it under the selected node or replace the whole map. ### Export Shortcut / entry: Export XMind (opens in XMind 8 and 2020+); PNG / SVG / PDF with resolution, transparent background, padding, or just the selected subtree; Word (map image plus headings), PowerPoint (one slide per branch), Excel; Markdown, Mermaid, OPML, FreeMind, a collapsible HTML outline, CSV and JSON. ### Copy to clipboard Shortcut / entry: Export → Copy to clipboard Copy the map as an image, Markdown or Mermaid code and paste it into documents, chats, GitHub or Notion. ### Print Shortcut / entry: Ctrl + P Lays the map out for the paper size and prints it; you can also save as PDF from the print dialog. ## Sharing and collaboration ### Save to the cloud (VIP) Shortcut / entry: Export → Share / collaborate Signed-in Qiling VIP members can save a map to the server. It gets a fixed address (/edit/), later edits sync automatically, and opening that address on another computer lets you keep working. Everyone else can edit, import, export and download as usual, with maps kept in their own browser. ### Public link Shortcut / entry: Share → Public Once public, anyone with the link can view the map (read-only) without signing in. ### Collaborators and viewers Shortcut / entry: Share → Add people Add people by email or username. Collaborators can edit but not delete the map; viewers can only look. An email that has no account yet takes effect once that person signs up with it. ### Sync and conflicts Edits upload about 1.5 seconds after you stop, and others’ edits are pulled every 15 seconds. If two people change the map at once you choose: take theirs, overwrite with yours, or keep yours as a copy. ### Maps shared with you Shortcut / entry: File → My maps Maps others shared with you are listed under "Shared with me"; leave a map from the share dialog and your local copy stays. ### Offline snapshot link Shortcut / entry: Share → Copy offline snapshot link Packs the whole map into a link without uploading it. The recipient gets a copy as it was at that moment; later edits do not sync.